On Cloudventure Trail Shoe The Swiss home of Olivier Bernhard, three-time world duathlon champion and one of the founders of On Running shoes, is tucked high in the forested slopes of the Swiss Alps. Watching him dance nimbly up steep switchbacks covered in roots and rocks or fly down slopes of jagged scree, it seems a no-brainer that the six-year-old company would create a trail shoe. The shoe they designed, called the Cloudventure, uses the company’s signature “cloud” pods on the outsole, tweaked to better handle off-road conditions. The purpose of these tubular outsole protrusions has always been two-fold. First, they deliver a unique combination of cushioning and responsiveness: They cushion as they compress upon impact, then, when fully flat and firmly held in place by interlocking teeth, they provide a platform for powerful pushoffs. Second, because of the open, flexible nature of the pods, they dampen the horizontal forces of touch-down as well, moving in whichever direction the forces are pushing.
